Introduction:THE CURSED GOSPEL

INTRODUCTION

The delusion as it pertains to this book is the belief that you're a Christian when in reality you're not one at all. The deluded ones walk like sheep, talk like sheep, and bleat like sheep; but they're not Christ's sheep. They are pretentious church members or clergymen who think they merit salvation by living a religious life. But in reality God doesn't know them at all. They profess they are saved by grace, but then they put an addition to it. They add to grace their sinful religious practices and turn the grace of our God into an occasion for the flesh.

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).

Their works are sinful because they are done out of the wrong motives. They seek to be made righteous by good works without the righteousness of Christ.

You'll find many of these deluded churches on city street corners taking their place of religious dominance. Their huge edifices makes Christianity look large and prosperous instead of small and scattered.

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).

If there are few that find it, like the Bible says, then the true church is not a great force in the world but a small and insignificant number with limited religious power.

Christianity looks like one big failure when the world sees the deluded church and presumes it to be the true church of God. You may have heard that Christianity was responsible for the Crusades, the Inquisition, witch hunts, and the like. Just because another family has the same last name doesn't mean that the atrocities perpetrated in that name came from your family tree.

Not every group that names the name of Christ should be considered Christian. I suppose Satan would call himself a Christian too! Satan, the great deceiver is the head of many churches pretending to be Christian. Having a church called, “The Church of the Doomed,” or, “The Church of Ichabod (the glory of the Lord is departed),” would not bring many followers into his house. But having a Christian name like, “The Word of Truth,” or “The Lighthouse of God,” would certainly bring many into house of worship.

This book will deal with one of the worse and sinister teachings that have led many to give up Christianity all together. This teaching literally deludes its followers into a form of earthly piety that many think will give them heavenly salvation.

The followers of this false teaching soon find out that they are unable to keep the rigid system of works and shortly fall completely away from all forms of Christianity. I call this teaching “grace plus works salvation.”

Nature tells us that if we add certain unfamiliar wild herbs in our cooking, we could kill ourselves. Poisonous Nightshades have wonderful looking purple berries, but are extremely deadly. The Bible speaks of a poisonous stew made from wild gourds:

“And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof” (2 Kings 4:39-40).

Many churches today who are teaching a mixture of grace plus works are serving a deadly pot of false salvation. Grace is good by itself, but mixed with works it makes for a deadly combination of death and destruction. The Bible says,

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” Galatians 5:1-4).

In Genesis 15, God made a covenant with Abraham. As a token of the covenant He commanded every male should be circumcised. Every male who was not circumcised was to be cut off from the Jewish people. If they weren't circumcised they were considered as having broken the covenant. Circumcision proudly associated a person with the Jewish religion. It is a very sobering thought that a simple act of circumcision can forfeit your right of salvation through Christ,

“Christ is become of no effect unto you.”

Today, keeping the practice of circumcision for salvation may not be that prevalent. But a different, just as deadly set of actions added to grace will nevertheless make salvation ineffectual and forfeit our right to Heaven through Jesus Christ.

 As a follower of Christ, you cannot remain indifferent; there is a choice to be made. Your salvation has to be completely by grace or by works. There is no mixture. Paul puts it clearly and fearfully in Romans 11:6,

“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Do you trust in Christ alone? When before the Lord you stand, will He say unto you?

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Or will He say,

“I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23).